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Iran war gives small boost to thermal coal, further gains possible
Commentary ROI: Reuters Open Interest
Iran war gives small boost to thermal coal, further gains possible
Clyde Russell
Asia Commodities and Energy Columnist
May 5, 2026 12:50 AM EDT Updated 27 mins ago
LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 5 (Reuters) - Seaborne thermal coal prices in Asia rallied in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, but the gains are modest and nowhere near the size seen during the crisis created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
This may seem counter-intuitive at first glance, given that thermal coal is an alternative to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for electricity generation, and about 20% of global supply of the super-chilled fuel has been lost with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Seaborne thermal coal prices surged as much as 78% in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, even though there was very little disruption to supply, with the main impact being a re-routing of flows as Western buyers shunned Russian cargoes.
While Asia's LNG imports have slumped since the start of the Iran war, the bulk of the decline has been experienced by China, which has cut arrivals and turned instead to domestic and pipeline natural gas as well as domestic coal.
{snip}
Iran war gives small boost to thermal coal, further gains possible
Clyde Russell
Asia Commodities and Energy Columnist
May 5, 2026 12:50 AM EDT Updated 27 mins ago
LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 5 (Reuters) - Seaborne thermal coal prices in Asia rallied in the wake of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, but the gains are modest and nowhere near the size seen during the crisis created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
This may seem counter-intuitive at first glance, given that thermal coal is an alternative to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for electricity generation, and about 20% of global supply of the super-chilled fuel has been lost with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Seaborne thermal coal prices surged as much as 78% in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, even though there was very little disruption to supply, with the main impact being a re-routing of flows as Western buyers shunned Russian cargoes.
While Asia's LNG imports have slumped since the start of the Iran war, the bulk of the decline has been experienced by China, which has cut arrivals and turned instead to domestic and pipeline natural gas as well as domestic coal.
{snip}
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